WARNING: it relates to breastfeeding so if you were thinking about reading this and seeing something sweet and cute, you were mistaken. No need to read any further.
My precious Millie has turned into a biter. Yes, she bit me five times while I tried nursing her before her bedtime tonight. She bit, I freaked out and pulled her off, she cried out of fear, I tried to nurse again, repeat. OUCH!! She has bitten me a couple of times before this but never this many times at once!
So my question to you breastfeeding mothers is:
Did your baby bite you? If so, did you continue to breastfeed?
I'm so stressed out over this because I'm not ready to give up yet; however, I don't think I can live with my baby biting me everytime I try to nurse either. I don't want this beautiful, special bonding time with my daughter to turn into something I dread. I've made it seven months but my goal was one year or at the very least eight months. I know I can continue to pump and feed her that way for a while but it will only be a matter of time before that becomes too time consuming and I am an extremely impatient person; not to mention so is Millie.... like mother like daughter!
Any advice you have on what I should do will be greatly appreciated.
Here are a couple of things that helped me with my biter. One, feed her before nursing. Since Millie is 7 months now, I assume she's eating some solids, and being a little more full when she's goes to nurse might help her be a little calmer. Two, when she bites, take her off and say "no" in a gentle but firm tone and then don't put her back on for 5-10 minutes. After waiting, if she does it again, do the same thing. If she does it again, don't nurse again for 30 minutes. The idea is to teach her that you are not happy and that biting removes the thing that she wants; when she is good, she gets it, but when she bites, it goes away. Third, when you sense she is getting done with her serious nursing and starting to get a little slow or lazy, end the session because when she starts playing, she is more apt to bite. Hope that helps and you're able to enjoy several more months of sharing this wonderful time together.
ReplyDeletewish i had advice for you! i wasnt able to nurse long enough for my girls to start biting. SO awesome that you're still able to though! hope you get it all figured out :) being a mommy is the greatest thing ever huh?? :)
ReplyDeletemine only did this once or twice. but i just said "no" and put the baby down. then only a few minutes later would pick them up and try again. hope it's just a tiny phase!!!
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